Barrel Lifting

Barrel Lifting was a classic test of strength for the old time strongmen.

Call it a keg, cask or barrel, the classic wooden barrel shape was great for wet or dry goods. They were one of the most common shipping containers for thousands of years, so people were familiar with the difficulty of lifting a barrel and it's relative weight. So stevedore, bar back or sideshow strongman, in the old days, you would have done some barrel lifting, whether you liked it, or not.

Some of the Strongmen, like George Jowett, even included barrel lifting exercises in some of their training courses. I believe that barrels are particularly fantastic for grip strength training.